Testing the Waters with Dori: A Few Words on “Authentic”

Back in January, I asked the question what does immersive travel look like? At the time, I also mentioned two other overused words in travel marketing – luxury and authentic.

Part of the problem with words like immersive and luxury is that they can mean different things to different people. A poolside guacamole demonstration — which I don’t consider immersive — might be considered immersive by others. A Carnival or Royal Caribbean cruiser getting to have lobster after working months (or years) to pay for a week-long cruise might see that as the height of luxury.

But authenticity? That’s different.

Let me explain.

On dictionary.com, the word “luxury” has four definitions that can apply to cruising:

• A material object, service, etc., conducive to sumptuous living, usually a delicacy, elegance, or a refinement of living rather than a necessity.
  • This could reference silk sheets on a Silversea cruise just as easily as the lobster on a Carnival cruise.

• Free or habitual indulgence in or enjoyment of comforts and pleasures in addition to those necessary for a reasonable standard of well-being.
  • This could include the on-demand caviar that Seabourn is known for, just as easily as lounging by the pool every day in the kids-free Solarium on Royal Caribbean.

• A means of ministering to such indulgence or enjoyment.
  • A cruise – any cruise – gives cruisers the luxury of choice of what they want to do on any given day, whether they want to sleep late or skip a port or do everything on the schedule.

• A pleasure out of the ordinary allowed to oneself
  • Again, a cruise – any cruise – gives their guests this exact experience whether it’s the lobster or dinner or a Champagne breakfast.

In other words, the word luxury, even when taken literally, can have multiple meanings at once. When it can just as easily describe the experience a cruiser will have on Carnival as another cruiser will have on Silversea, does it still mean anything?

Let’s contrast that with the word “authentic.”

Dictionary.com offers three definitions that can apply to cruising.

• Not false or copied; genuine; real.
• Having an origin supported by unquestionable evidence; authenticated; verified.
• Representing one’s true nature or beliefs; true to oneself or to the person identified.

For funsies, I went through my emails to find press releases that use the word “authentic” or some version thereof. Here’s a sample of what I found:

• “a collection of shore excursions authentically connect our guests to the… destinations on our voyages.”
• “Designed from the ground-up for intimacy, access and authentic encounters…”
• “using locally sourced ingredients such as coconut, turmeric and tamarind to create authentic experiences”
• “travelers get an authentic taste of “pura vida” while conquering Class II-III rapids, paddling around Lake Arenal, and ziplining through the jungle canopy.”

I could keep going, there were that many search results.

It’s not just press releases. At an event for one of the cruise industry’s most manufactured private island experiences, the presenter talked about the authentic interactions guests will have. To be fair, I think he meant the interactions between the guests themselves. But don’t we all have authentic interactions between ourselves and our family and friends every day? i mean, isn’t that just life? How is that a marketing angle?

But I digress.

Of the examples above, I would argue that only the one mentioning locally-sourced ingredients comes close to being authentic, based on the three definitions from Dictionary.com.

Having been on hundreds of shore excursions during my career, I’ve had few that authentically connected me to a destination and even fewer offered authentic encounters. As for whether ziplining through a jungle canopy gives anyone an authentic taste for anything? I’ll let you answer that for yourself.

Generally, I would implore travel marketers to steer clear of the word authentic as much as possible. Not because it has so many meanings that it virtually doesn’t mean anything anymore (as is the case with “luxury”).

But because most people are misusing it.

Which can leave those products that truly are authentic with a problem. To use or not to use?

Case in point. On a recent FAM trip in Japan with MITSUI OCEAN CRUISES, the line’s head of commercial strategy, Anthony (Tony) Kaufman said he’s instructed his team to never use the words “immersive” or “authentic.”

But here’s the thing, the product IS immersive and authentic.

It’s authentic right down to the china in the main dining room that’s made in Japan. Down to the sushi made by Japanese chefs, using Japanese ingredients, served on Japanese ceramics designed specifically for sushi. Down to the fact that the vast majority of cruisers onboard are Japanese travelers.

On shore, our tour guide at a sake museum was an ex-employee of the sake factory-turned-museum. On Jeju Island, we didn’t just go the Haenyeo (women divers) museum, we went to a dive site and got to meet and talk (via a translator) to the divers themselves.

I’m not going to pretend that every aspect of the onboard and shoreside experience is fully authentic in every way (dishes in the buffet are not made in Japan, for instance), but as an overall experience, it is authentically Japanese.

The media members of the FAM had to convince Kaufman and his team, that, in MITSUI’s case, they could be using “authentic” to describe the experience. Sadly, because the word is so overused and misused, it’s entirely possible that’s its power as a marketing angle has been too badly eroded.

Here’s the good news.

That’s where you, the travel advisor, come into the picture. Because advisors are constantly learning, constantly traveling and experiencing the products they sell, advisors know when something truly is authentic and when it’s just pretending to authenticity. It’s the advisor who can prune away the pretenders and present their clients with the real deal (if that’s what the client wants, of course).

So, in the end, maybe it’s a good thing that too many marketers are presenting their products as authentic, because now the client who truly wants that, has no choice but to consult the experts.

What do you think when you see or hear the word authentic in travel marketing? Is it like nails on a chalkboard for you? Do you not care one way or another? Am I just tilting at windmills?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.